Thursday, March 28, 2024

15-year-old girl dies while in labour

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A 15-year-old girl of Luswesha village in Senanga district has died due to complications while giving birth at home.

The identified deceased girl, who was a pupil at Namaenya basic school, was impregnated by a named man in his twenties of the same village.

The girl, who died this week in the process of delivering her child, was impregnated while she was in grade seven.

An eye witness from the same village, said the girl was giving birth from home this week but in the process, the teenage mother became weak.

She was rushed to the nearest health centre and died later, leaving behind the newly born baby.

Meanwhile, Senanga District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) Lisimba Illutombi, who visited the funeral house, said the named girl had qualified to grade eight this year with good results.

Mrs. Illutombi said the girl was underage adding that the education sector was saddened that a minor had to die while giving life.

She stated that sensitization messages on reducing teenage pregnancies and delivering from health centres have been given to the villagers.

She said such messages will continue in order to prevent similar incidences from happening.

Mrs. Illutombi further said the death of the teenager was a loss to the education sector as she had the potential to contribute to the country’s development.

Meanwhile, Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) representative Induna Simona Wakumelo said women in the area should stop giving birth from homes in order to avoid certain deaths.

Induna Wakumelo stated that it was against the laws of Zambia for any pregnant women to deliver from home as it is not safe for both the women and babies.

41 COMMENTS

  1. The habit of shunning health institutions for treatment is very prevalent in our communities. We should all be involved in promoting awareness among our people on the importance of using clinics for all medical related requirements. May her soul rest in peace.

  2. Amend the current laws on abortion. How many more will die because the doctors conscience or religion doesn’t allow him/her to perform an abortion? The law needs to force the doctors to save the life of the mother. Letting a young girl die is worse than impregnating her.

    • That’s not the solution. You talk as if abortion (even ‘legal abortion’) is risk free. What we must be addressing is stiffer punishments for people like you (and I assume you are a man) who see nothing wrong in having s*x with underage girls and expecting them to abort after you impregnate them.Muppet!!!!

    • @Czar. What’s with the ad hominem attack? Don’t assume stuff on the internet, it makes you look immature and illiterate even when you have some fancy degree. Be objective.
      Medical and surgical abortion are risk free, at least they pose no risk of death. It’s illogical to assume every pregnant underage girl was defiled, sometimes it’s *consensual* sex with another minor. If it’s the latter the law needs to take measures different from that of the former. It sucks that children are forced to keep a pregnancy they never wanted or asked just because of religious constraints.

    • @Ndanji Khakis. It doesn’t and I haven’t suggested that it says so. I’m instead suggesting that the law should be amended to allow for minors to access abortion services. The law should compel medical officers to give an option of abortion especially to the parents. Look at last year alone, Eastern province had over 10,000 school going children fall pregnant, of these around 4% lost their lives due to child birth related complications. Stats were obtained from Marie Stopes.

    • Even with medical abortion the risk of death is there though less as compared to unsafe abortion. Do your research well.

  3. This was a high risk pregnancy . Caeserean section was way to go.where were all these high ranking officials to ensure that she was admitted for elective operation at 36 weeks. Negligence by providers

    • @Power 90. Zambians shun caesarean births. There are a lot of stereotypes attached to it even in cases were people surely know the mother will die giving birth. I have seen instances were an entire family goes for overnight prayers and fasting so that maybe their relative can have a safe caesarean birth. The ones in rural areas are worse, they normally resort to traditional methods of muscle relaxers which don’t help because minors usually have very narrow birth canals.

    • @Uko Kwine. Caesarean births save lives period!
      It should always be encouraged for this one reason. They were those times when natural birth was part of the biological process, caesarean birth is now part of biological process too. This girl died because there was no medical intervention and that medical intervention is a C-section. How do you expect all those women with diabetes to give birth if not through C-section? Do you know you actually make women who give birth through C-section feel guilty and unworthy because of this kind of talk? Every woman would want to give birth the natural way vivuta chabe.

    • Iwe Dokowe don’t preach speak like a professional that is if you are one. C section saves lives period? There are no absolutes in life. I said should not be encouraged. You should have asked for my reasons instead of going off on a tangent about unworthiness
      In the medical profession it’s well known that there are those who opt for cesarean to preserve sexual activity. Is that saving a life? Statistics also show that most people born by c-section are prone to diseases and ailments that aren’t commonin naturally born people, ailments like asthma – go check the others

    • And have all of you presumed the girl died because she was in need of a C section? There are many complications in birth and giving birth at home will make these fatal.
      The story does not say she was in need of careful section but it looks like like most of you want to use this death to preach about the advantages of c sections.
      In Europe the debate is that hospitals should encourage natural birth because many women just want c sections. You want us to reach that stage before realizing the beauty of nature?

  4. @ Dokowe spot on. Even in urban areas the so called educated women shun C/SECTION .they leave hospital against medical advice and end up with still births or maternal deaths.
    Secondly this generation of teenagers are incorrigible to say the least

  5. We follow indications and contra indications before we decide which case should undergo the knife .we don’t just encourage C/Section. In short there is criterion

  6. This is so tragic. It’s hard to find the right words when such things happen. It was bad enough that the girl got pregnant especially after having qualified to grade 8 with good results. It became worse that she lost her life in the process of giving birth.

  7. Contra indication means when it’s not supposed to be done example if there is intra uterine fetal death.
    Indication example fetal distress

  8. This is truly a tragic story. Labor and delivering a child, whatever the method, is beyond the worst pain imaginable for most and I would not wish that death on my worst enemy. She was a child who should have been going to school NOT dealing with a pregnancy. Until the female child is valued and her rights respected there will be talk of everything else except prosecution. Children can not consent so surely this would be considered statutory rape with the evidence presented in the form of a blessing, the child.

  9. Very sad, when the girl got pregnant the boy should have been arrested for under age sex. Whatever your opinion the girl is blameless. She is a victim of a lawless society. Saying sad or shame is not enough this education board Secretary is a very ignorant bastard. Under age sex is rape regardless of the perpetuater’s age. You can tell the girl had no medical support from on set. There was no duty of care by the education system, health system and the society at large. This young girl is a victim of the failed government system and society. R. I. P

  10. GOVT SHOULD START CHARGING CHIEFS OF SUCH VILLAGES MAYBE CHIEFS WILL BE MORE PROTECTIVE TO THERE SUBJECTS THEY ARE GETTING SALARIES FROM GOVT WITHOUT CARRYING THIER JOBS PERFECTLY OR MANY MORE YOUNG GIRLS LIFE WILL LOST

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